This invention generally relates to rivet feed sliders for feeding rivets to a rivet transport tube or similar structure, and more specifically relates to a rivet feed slider which improves the consistency and reliability of the delivery of rivets along a rivet transport tube to a carrier head of a rivet driving machine.
There are a variety of riveting machines for automatically or manually controlling the feeding of rivets to a carrier head. In such a riveting machine, rivets are transported, served, or otherwise moved from a bulk source of rivets to the carrier head of a rivet driving machine. One such transport system is an air feed system, while another is a tape feed system. Of these two systems, it is advantageous to deliver rivets using an air feed system because such a system is usually less costly and requires less processing steps.
In a prior art air feed system, a vibratory bowl feeder is used to sequence or otherwise deliver rivets in a sequential order. The vibratory bowl feeder delivers the sequentially-aligned rivets to a rivet delivery path whereafter the rivets are removed from the path, sequentially one by one, by a sliding mechanism. Such sliding mechanisms are useful to control the flow of rivets to a rivet delivery tube and sequence the rivets so that only one rivet is served to the carrier head at a time. The sliding mechanisms are positioned in the air flow path so that they can effectively use the air supply to serve rivets to the rivet transport tube.
A problem associated with prior art sliding mechanisms is that they tend to interrupt or reduce the air flow to the rivet delivery tube, specifically when the sliding mechanism is in the process of receiving another rivet to transport. Disrupting the flow to the rivet delivery tube, which ultimately communicates with the carrier head, is not desirable. Disruption of the air flow after a rivet has been delivered to the rivet transport tube can cause feeding errors. For example, the disruption may cause a rivet to bounce back out of the carrier head after it has been received by the carrier head. Such a situation indicates an empty carrier head and may result in the rivet not being properly positioned in the carrier head. This bouncing back of rivets out of the carrier head as a result of the disruption in air flow caused by the sliding mechanism also increases the wear on the components during use.
A general object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a rivet feed slider which improves the consistency and reliability of the delivery of rivets along a rivet transport tube to a carrier head of a rivet driving machine.
Another object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a rivet feed slider which does not substantially disrupt air flow from an air supply to a rivet transport tube.
Briefly, and in accordance with at least one of the foregoing objects, an embodiment of the present invention provides a rivet feed slider for use in association with an air supply and a rivet transport tube in communication with a rivet driving machine. The rivet feed slider is configured to sequentially receive rivets from a rivet delivery path and feed the rivets to the rivet transport tube using the air supply. The rivet feed slider includes a body which has a rivet receiving chamber formed therein which is configured to sequentially receive the rivets, and an aperture is in communication with the rivet receiving chamber. The aperture allows air to flow from the air supply through the rivet receiving chamber to the rivet transport tube such that a rivet which is disposed in the rivet receiving chamber is moved into the rivet transport tube. The rivet feed slider also includes at least one additional aperture which allows air to flow from the air supply to the rivet transport tube when the rivet receiving chamber is not aligned with the air supply. Hence, the air flow from the air supply to the rivet transport tube is not substantially disrupted, and the consistency and reliability of the delivery of rivets along the rivet transport tube to the rivet driving machine is improved.
Preferably, the rivet feed slider includes a plurality of apertures besides the aperture which communicates with the rivet receiving chamber, and the apertures are configured such that the volume of air flowing into the rivet transport tube is increased and the pressure is reduced. The apertures may be elongated and may have a larger width (i.e. an increased cross-sectional area) than the aperture which communicates with the rivet receiving chamber, thereby providing the increased air flow volume and decreased pressure.
The external surface of the rivet feed slider may provide a channel which communicates with the rivet receiving chamber. The channel is configured to receive a tip or end of a rivet as the rivet feed slider slides, such that the channel facilitates the transport of the rivet into the rivet receiving chamber as the rivet feed slider slides into position relative to the rivet delivery path.